Restorative Interventions and School Discipline Sanctions in a Large Urban School District

Abstract

A large urban district ( N = 90,546 students, n = 180 schools) implemented restorative interventions as a response to school discipline incidents. Findings from multilevel modeling of student discipline records ( n = 9,921) revealed that youth from groups that tend to be overrepresented in suspensions and expulsions (e.g., Black, Latino, and Native American youth; boys; and students in special education) had similar, if not greater, rates of participation in restorative interventions than their peers. First-semester participants in restorative interventions had lower odds of receiving office discipline referrals (OR .21, p < .001) and suspensions (OR .07, p < .001) in the second semester. However, the suspension gap between Black and White students persisted. Implications for reform in school discipline practices are noted.

Can Restorative Practices Improve School Climate and Curb Suspensions? An Evaluation of the Impact of Restorative Practices in a Mid-Sized Urban School District

“…One study in Denver found that with each responsive intervention (circles, mediations, or conferences) a student received in the first semester of a school year after an office referral or suspension, the student's odds of receiving another office referral or out-of-school suspension in the spring semester were lower. This association held after accounting for demographics (including race), general or special education, frequency and seriousness of office referrals, and school environment (Anyon et al, 2016).…”

“…A different study in Denver found that the district's overall suspension rate fell from 11 percent to 6 percent between 2006 and 2013 while implementing restorative practices (Gonzalez, 2015). However, other studies (e.g., Anyon et al, 2014;Anyon et al, 2016;Gregory , et al, 2018) concluded from the Denver Public School data that restorative interventions were not associated with African American students having lower odds of receiving a suspension after a referral.…”

“…Moreover, for the past few years, these four principals had been lobbying the district to adopt restorative practices. Prior research has found that school leader commitment is important in engendering school-wide buy-in for and use of restorative practices among staff (e.g., Anyon et al, 2016). We intentionally selected schools in which we had a greater likelihood of observing restorative practice processes.…”

Conceptualizing Equity in the Implementation of California Education Finance Reform

“…In the transformative view, equity means challenging oppression, including racism and classism (Dixson and Rousseau 2005). This perspective suggests that oppression is perpetuated through structural practices, such as racial disproportionality in discipline (Anyon et al 2016) or course placement , as well as educators' implicit biases and expectations (Warikoo et al 2016). This view also assumes intersectionality: individuals possess multiple social identities, and an understanding of oppression must consider the interactions among the dynamics of race, national origin, class, gender, language, ability, and other constructions (Crenshaw 1991;Solórzano and Bernal 2001).…”

Fostering community, sharing power: Lessons for building restorative justice school cultures

“…Throughout this paper, we refer to RJ as a general framework for responding to school-based conflict; we use "RJ practices" or "restorative practices" to refer to specific practices or processes used to achieve the goals of RJ, like circles or mediations; and, "RJ response" describes an action or series of actions taken to address a given conflict or issue within an RJ framework, which may include multiple restorative practices or related supports. 2 While limited in number, a few comprehensive evaluations-including a recent randomized control trial in Pittsburgh-have found that schools engaged in RJ experienced decreases in behavioral incidents and use of suspensions; these studies have also found some reductions in racial disparities in school disciplinary responses, though the evidence is mixed (Anyon et al, 2016;Augustine et al, 2018;Davison, Penner & Penner, 2019;González, 2015b;Jain, Bassey, Brown, & Preety, 2014;Simson, 2012). Additionally, qualitative research has found that RJ contributes to meaningful changes in both school culture and disciplinary responses; fosters communication and accountability; and promotes empathy, social-emotional learning, and conflict resolution (González, 2015b;González, Sattler, & Buth, 2019;Jain et al, 2014;Vaandering, 2014;Wadhwa, 2016).…”